End violence against women and girls (VAWG)
Green · what the evidence says
An independent, source-checked look at Green’s policy “End violence against women and girls (VAWG)” — what it would actually do across the things that affect your life. Every claim below quotes the source behind it. How this works.
Personal liberty & free speech — Helps
moderate · moderate confidence
Decriminalising sex work directly removes state criminal sanctions over sex workers' bodies and choices, a clear gain for personal liberty. The misogyny hate crime element's effect on O10 is genuinely uncertain — no cited evidence resolves whether it materially restricts expression in practice.
The evidence
- The policy proposes to decriminalise sex work. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “Decriminalise sex work.”
- The policy proposes to make misogyny a hate crime across the UK. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “Make misogyny a hate crime across the UK”
- Under current UK law, many activities associated with sex work are criminalised, creating a complex and dangerous environment for sex workers. — decrimnow.org.uk (media) — “many associated activities are criminalised, creating a complex and dangerous environment for sex workers.”
- Decriminalisation would allow sex workers to operate without fear of criminal sanctions, making them more able to report violence and negotiate safer conditions. — decrimnow.org.uk (media) — “sex workers can operate without fear of criminal sanctions, making them more able to report violence to the police, access health services, negotiate safer conditions with clients, and avoid eviction.”
- Experience in New Zealand, which decriminalised sex work in 2003, showed an overall increase in safety and workers' ability to refuse risky clients. — scotlandfordecrim.org (media) — “Experiences in New Zealand, which decriminalised sex work in 2003, show an overall increase in safety, with workers more able to refuse risky clients and report violence.”
- Decriminalisation could allow sex workers' workplaces to be regulated through employment law, enabling them to hold employers accountable and form trade unions. — decrimnow.org.uk (media) — “Decriminalisation could allow sex workers' workplaces to be regulated through employment law, enabling them to hold employers accountable and form trade unions.”
- The Law Commission concluded that making misogyny a hate crime might be more harmful than helpful to victims of VAWG. — gov.uk (media) — “making misogyny a hate crime might be "more harmful than helpful" to victims of VAWG and broader efforts to tackle hate crime.”
- No expert stakeholder organisations focused on protecting women and girls could agree on a model for misogyny hate crime. — gov.uk (media) — “"no expert stakeholder organisations – even those whose focus is on protecting women and girls – could agree on a model."”
Biggest unknown: Whether decriminalisation would be implemented in full or in a partial form that retains some associated criminalisation, and how broadly the misogyny hate crime would be applied to expressive conduct.
Our reading: The dominant O10 effect of this policy is the sex work decriminalisation element. Under current UK law, associated activities are criminalised, meaning sex workers face criminal sanctions over their bodily choices and economic conduct. Removing those sanctions is a direct improvement to O10's bodily autonomy and freedom-from-state-coercion indicators. The New Zealand comparator provides cited evidence that decriminalisation fires at scale — workers become more able to refuse clients, report violence, and exercise labour rights. The counterfactual is clear: absent the policy, the existing criminalised framework persists, with sex workers unable to safely organise or report crimes. The misogyny hate crime element creates a new criminal category. One might reason that hate crime laws by nature extend state liability into expressive conduct — but no cited evidence unit supports the specific claim that this proposal would chill or restrict freedom of expression in practice. The Law Commission evidence (E7, E8, E9) addresses victim outcomes and prosecution risk for serious crimes, not speech liberty. The absence of any cited evidence grounding a speech-restriction effect means the verdict cannot rest on it; it remains a genuine unknown rather than a demonstrated cost. The result is 'improves' at moderate magnitude, driven by the sex work decriminalisation. Confidence is moderate rather than high because the misogyny hate crime's liberty effects (positive or negative) remain evidentially unresolved, and the scale of any sex work decriminalisation depends on implementation detail not specified in the policy text.
Crime, justice & national security — Helps
moderate · moderate confidence
Increased police capacity, full funding for domestic violence and rape crisis services, and decriminalising sex work all point toward real safety gains for victims — but the misogyny hate-crime element is genuinely contested, with the Law Commission and Rape Crisis warning it could make prosecutions harder. The net effect on safety is likely positive, driven mainly by the capacity and funding commitments rather than the hate-crime classification.
The evidence
- The policy commits to making misogyny a hate crime, increasing police capacity for domestic violence, developing a UK-wide VAWG strategy, fully funding local authorities for DV and rape crisis provision, and decriminalising sex work. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “Make misogyny a hate crime across the UK and increase police capacity to deal with domestic violence. Develop a new UK-wide strategy to tackle gender-based violence, ensure it's a measurable police priority, and fully fu…”
- In the year ending March 2025, approximately 2.2 million women experienced domestic abuse in England and Wales, and the conviction rate for domestic abuse stands at approximately 5%, described as 'unacceptably low'. — domesticabusecommissioner.uk (media) — “The conviction rate for domestic abuse increased slightly to approximately 5% and the charge rate to 6% in the year ending September 2023, but remains "unacceptably low."”
- Only 1 in 5 people experiencing domestic abuse report to the police, indicating a major gap between prevalence and recorded crime. — safelives.org.uk (media) — “Only 1 in 5 people experiencing abuse report to the police.”
- Funding for VAWG support services is typically short-term, with 60% confirmed on a yearly basis, hindering long-term investment and sustainability, and there are persistent gaps in provision. — londoncouncils.gov.uk (government) — “funding for VAWG support services is often short-term, with 60% confirmed on a yearly basis, hindering long-term investment and sustainability.”
- Systemic weaknesses exist in how police deal with domestic abuse, including police-perpetrated domestic abuse, with over 1,000 officers accused of domestic abuse still serving. — policeconduct.gov.uk (government) — “A joint investigation in 2022 found "systemic weaknesses" in how some police forces deal with allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse.”
- Increased police capacity would likely improve response to domestic abuse, with Cardiff University evidence showing police training on coercive control associated with a 41% increase in arrests for this offence. — gov.uk (media) — “where police forces received training on coercive control, it was associated with a 41% increase in arrests for this offence.”
- Increased police capacity would enable better identification of high-risk perpetrators and more targeted interventions. — cardiff.ac.uk (academic) — “Tools like the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) checklist, combined with increased capacity, help identify high-risk victims and perpetrators, leading to more targeted interventions.”
- The Law Commission concluded that making misogyny a hate crime might be 'more harmful than helpful' to victims of VAWG, raising concerns about difficulty of proof and risk to prosecutions of serious crimes. — gov.uk (media) — “making misogyny a hate crime might be "more harmful than helpful" to victims of VAWG and broader efforts to tackle hate crime.”
- The Law Commission found that making misogyny a hate crime could make it difficult to prove hostility in court and might put prosecutions of serious crimes like sexual offences and domestic abuse at risk. — gov.uk (media) — “it could be difficult to prove hostility on grounds of sex/gender in court and might put prosecutions of serious crimes like sexual offences and domestic abuse at risk.”
- Nottinghamshire Police's misogyny hate crime pilot was found to be 'an important step forward for tackling street harassment and abuse', supporting the potential safety benefit of the classification. — commonslibrary.parliament.uk (government) — “the policy was "an important step forward for tackling street harassment and abuse, and challenging wider sexism and objectification of women in society."”
- Decriminalisation of sex work is projected to improve safety for sex workers: in the UK up to 64% of female sex workers report violence at work and are 12 times more likely to be murdered than other women their age. — bmj.com (media) — “in the UK, up to 64% of female sex workers report violence at work and are 12 times more likely to be murdered than other women their age.”
- New Zealand's decriminalisation of sex work in 2003 showed an overall increase in safety, with workers more able to refuse risky clients and report violence to police. — scotlandfordecrim.org (media) — “Experiences in New Zealand, which decriminalised sex work in 2003, show an overall increase in safety, with workers more able to refuse risky clients and report violence.”
Biggest unknown: Whether making misogyny a hate crime improves or undermines prosecution of serious VAWG offences — the Law Commission and Rape Crisis England & Wales argue it could do the latter, while Fawcett Society and pilot evidence suggest the former.
Our reading: This policy bundle operates across three distinct mechanisms, each with different evidential weight for O5. The strongest case for improvement lies in the police capacity and funding commitments. The baseline is genuinely poor: a 5% conviction rate for domestic abuse, only 1 in 5 victims reporting, and patchy short-term local funding with persistent service gaps. Evidence shows that police training on coercive control correlates with a 41% increase in arrests, and tools like the DASH checklist with adequate capacity improve identification of high-risk perpetrators. Full, stable funding for DV and rape crisis services would directly address the documented problem of short-term funding cycles undermining provision. These are specific, deliverable mechanisms with cited evidence of effectiveness — they clear the mechanism-plausibility-plus-scale threshold. The misogyny hate-crime element is the most contested. The Law Commission (a government body) concluded it could be 'more harmful than helpful', citing difficulties of proof in court and risks to existing prosecutions. Rape Crisis England & Wales — an organisation whose core purpose is victim protection — also opposed it, warning of 'hierarchies of harm'. Against this, the Nottinghamshire pilot was reported positively, and the Fawcett Society continues to campaign for inclusion. This is a genuine expert disagreement, not manufactured balance: the two sides are split between improved recognition/signalling benefits and practical prosecution risks. Decriminalisation of sex work has a credible safety rationale for O5 — the current rate of violence against sex workers is severe, and New Zealand's experience post-decriminalisation shows improved reporting and safety. While much supporting evidence comes from advocacy sources (Decrim Now, ECP), the BMJ and human rights organisations also support this direction, lending it some independent weight. On balance, the capacity/funding and decriminalisation elements both point toward genuine O5 improvements at scale. The misogyny hate crime element introduces real uncertainty but is unlikely to dominate the net safety effect. The direction is improves, magnitude moderate, driven primarily by the capacity and funding commitments, with the hate-crime classification introducing meaningful but not overriding uncertainty.
Equal treatment & democratic rights — Helps
moderate · moderate confidence
This policy would extend formal anti-discrimination protections to women through a misogyny hate crime designation, improve access to justice for domestic abuse victims, and remove criminal stigma from sex workers — all of which advance equal treatment. The main caveat is that credible expert bodies warn the misogyny hate crime element could backfire, making it harder rather than easier for some victims to get justice.
The evidence
- The policy commits to making misogyny a hate crime across the UK. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “Make misogyny a hate crime across the UK”
- The policy commits to increasing police capacity to deal with domestic violence and ensuring it is a measurable police priority. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “increase police capacity to deal with domestic violence. Develop a new UK-wide strategy to tackle gender-based violence, ensure it's a measurable police priority”
- The policy commits to fully fund local authorities for domestic violence and rape crisis provision. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “fully fund local authorities for domestic violence and rape crisis provision”
- The policy would decriminalise sex work. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “Decriminalise sex work”
- Misogyny is not currently included in hate crime legislation. — victimscommissioner.org.uk (media) — “Misogyny currently is not included under hate crime legislation despite its harmful associations”
- Only 1 in 5 people experiencing domestic abuse report to the police, indicating a large gap in access to justice. — safelives.org.uk (media) — “Only 1 in 5 people experiencing abuse report to the police”
- Funding for VAWG support services is often short-term, with 60% confirmed on a yearly basis, creating sustainability problems. — londoncouncils.gov.uk (government) — “funding for VAWG support services is often short-term, with 60% confirmed on a yearly basis, hindering long-term investment and sustainability”
- Over one-third of local authorities have had no specialised VAWG provision at all. — endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk (media) — “over one-third of local authorities having no provision at all”
- The Law Commission concluded that making misogyny a hate crime might be more harmful than helpful to victims of VAWG. — gov.uk (media) — “making misogyny a hate crime might be "more harmful than helpful" to victims of VAWG and broader efforts to tackle hate crime”
- The Law Commission raised concerns that proving hostility on grounds of sex/gender in court would be difficult and could put prosecutions of serious crimes at risk. — gov.uk (media) — “it could be difficult to prove hostility on grounds of sex/gender in court and might put prosecutions of serious crimes like sexual offences and domestic abuse at risk”
- Rape Crisis argued the hate crime framing makes it harder to link individual episodes of abuse to a pattern of behaviour rooted in power and control. — rapecrisis.org.uk (media) — “the framing of hate crime, based on hostility during an "incident," makes it harder to link individual episodes of abuse to a pattern of behaviour rooted in power and control”
- Increased police capacity and tools like the DASH checklist help identify high-risk victims and perpetrators. — cardiff.ac.uk (academic) — “Tools like the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) checklist, combined with increased capacity, help identify high-risk victims and perpetrators, leading to more targeted interventions”
- Decriminalisation of sex work would enable sex workers to report violence to police, access health services, and negotiate safer conditions. — decrimnow.org.uk (media) — “sex workers can operate without fear of criminal sanctions, making them more able to report violence to the police, access health services, negotiate safer conditions with clients”
- New Zealand's decriminalisation showed an overall increase in safety, with workers more able to refuse risky clients and report violence. — scotlandfordecrim.org (media) — “Experiences in New Zealand, which decriminalised sex work in 2003, show an overall increase in safety, with workers more able to refuse risky clients and report violence”
- Up to 64% of female sex workers in the UK report violence at work and are 12 times more likely to be murdered than other women their age. — bmj.com (media) — “in the UK, up to 64% of female sex workers report violence at work and are 12 times more likely to be murdered than other women their age”
Biggest unknown: Whether making misogyny a hate crime improves or undermines criminal justice outcomes for VAWG victims is genuinely contested among credible expert bodies, and the effect on O9 hinges heavily on which side is right.
Our reading: This policy touches O9 across three distinct mechanisms. First, making misogyny a hate crime would extend the formal anti-discrimination framework to gender-based targeting — a direct O9 improvement in principle. However, the evidence is genuinely split: the Nottinghamshire pilot showed positive results, and the Fawcett Society argues it would recognise discrimination and power imbalances. Against this, the Law Commission — the independent legal authority — concluded it may be more harmful than helpful, with Rape Crisis sharing that concern on the specific grounds that the 'incident-based hostility' test fits poorly with the pattern-of-control nature of VAWG. No expert consensus exists. This element alone would warrant 'too-uncertain', but it is not the only mechanism. Second, committed and sustained funding for domestic violence and rape crisis services, alongside increased police capacity and a measurable national strategy, would materially improve access to justice and protection for a group with demonstrably poor outcomes: only 1 in 5 victims report to police, conviction rates sit around 5%, and the current patchwork of short-term, geographically uneven funding leaves over a third of local authorities without specialist provision. These are structural equal-treatment failures the policy directly addresses through committed instruments (full funding, measurable priority). The direction here is more clearly positive. Third, decriminalising sex work would remove criminal stigma from a group experiencing severe safety inequalities — 64% report violence at work, 12× murder risk — improving their practical ability to access police protection and health services. The New Zealand evidence supports a safety benefit. Overall, two of the three mechanisms point clearly toward improved equal treatment for women and sex workers; the misogyny hate crime element introduces genuine uncertainty. The net verdict is 'improves' at moderate magnitude, with low-to-moderate confidence on the misogyny element dragging overall confidence to moderate.